Hog numbers up 12 percent from last year

July 11, 2008

SIOUX FALLS - The state's June 1 inventory of all hogs and pigs was 1.44 million head, up 12 percent from one year ago but down 1 percent from last quarter, according to the South Dakota office of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. Breeding stock totaled 150,000 head, up 3 percent from June 2007, but down 6 percent from last quarter. Market hogs totaled 1,290,000 head, up 13 percent from last year, but down 1 percent from March 2008. The March through May pig crop was 834,000 head, up 20 percent from 697,000 head last year. During the quarter 86,000 sows farrowed, up 18 percent from the 73,000 farrowings a year ago. Pigs per litter averaged 9.70, up from the previous year's 9.55. Producers intend to farrow 80,000 sows during June through August, 4 percent below the actual farrowings a year ago. Intentions for September through November are for 81,000 farrowings, down from 90,000 actual farrowings one year earlier. Access this complete report at: http://usda.mannlib. cornell.edu/usda/ nass/HogsPigs//2000s/ 2008/HogsPigs -06-27-2008.pdf U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, 2008 was 67.7 million head. This was up 6 percent from June 1, 2007, and up 1 percent from March 1, 2008. Breeding inventory, at 6.07 million head, was down 1 percent from last year, and down 1 percent from the previous quarter. Market hog inventory, at 61.6 million head, was up 7 percent from last year, and up 1 percent from last quarter. The March-May 2008 pig crop, at 29.0 million head, was up 4percent from 2007 and up 9 percent from 2006. Sows farrowing during this period totaled 3.09 million head, up 2 percent from 2007 and up 6 percent from 2006. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 51 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs saved per litter was 9.38 for the March-May 2008 period, compared to 9.20 last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 7.70 to 9.40. U.S. hog producers intend to have 3.07 million sows farrow during the June- August 2008 quarter, down 2 percent from the actual farrowings during the same period in 2007, but up 5 percent from 2006. Intended farrowings for September-November 2008, at 3.05 million sows, are down 4 percent from 2007 but up 3 percent from 2006. The total number of hogs under contractowned by operations with over 5,000 head, but raised by contractees, accounted for 41 percent of the total U.S. hog inventory, up from 39 percent last year.